katana600

They all have the sweetest little faces. I love baby pictures and everything commemorating those magical moments of creating a bond with the incredible world of parrots. I also think its a pretty good system that each egg from a clutch is laid on subsequent days. Every new hatchling has his or her very own special day! Way to go babies. Happy hatchday to each of you.

The only thing I have to go on is what our vet told us when our boy Juno passed away. They said I needed to get the necropsy within twenty four hours because any longer and there is enough degradation to render the tests inconclusive. It is possible your vet could have gotten a sample but knew it was long enough not to get useful information. It took us about six weeks to get information and my mind was inconsolable, I was so afraid they were going to come back and prove something I did or didn't do was the cause of losing such a beautiful, loved little soul. It turned out not to be anything that could be diagnosed, nor prevented, and certainly never accepted and understood. The bottom line is that nothing changed our loss no matter how much information and explanation was analyzed. The heart can not be consoled with reason and logic and proof. I am so sorry you are going through this grief. One of our members, Muse recently lost her beloved Marden. She posted a graphic that explains how she feels, it is a heart with a parrot shaped hole. Honor the void left by Rio's passing. As time passes and you find ways of remembering his happy contribution to your life, this grief will fade some and you will find coping in your own way as a special tribute to the love you will always have for Rio.

Predictably, Miss G-bird has had a few reclusive days to sort out her adventures and write her memoir. She has reached another milestone in her life makeover. Thursday evening she swung down to the seed catcher to get closer to David. When he wasn't properly attentive and grateful for her offer, she started a siren shriek. I gave him a little shake of the head, don't look at her, don't acknowlege this. He couldn't help it. He told her to stop it. She raised the volume and frequency. I sent him a text, just get up, go in the bedroom, close the door and remove yourself from her sight. He thought he would wait her out. She went on for thirty minutes. When she finally quit, we got up and went to bed with nary a night night or almond treat. When we were behind closed doors, I told him it was a really exciting change of events. She feels safe enough to be a totally annoying snot. Hahahahaha... Just like her messes, this is a sign that we are evolving into a normal happy bird family. Last night she broke the mood by asking for a scratch at bedtime. She was closing her eyes and so totally relaxed that I was just about to fall asleep standing up just looking at her sweet little face. This morning, I walked up and asked for a step up and she didn't even hesitate to raise her foot and come with me.

My condolences to you and your family. What did you name your friend? Even in such a short time he was a family member and brought joy to your home. I am so very sorry for the sadness in your family and for you to be in that place to have to decide to help him pass peacefully. It does not seem possible to wake up in the morning with happiness and a healthy young bird and feel such despair hours later. You will find a way to honor his place in your life. I am very happy to hear about the creation of a Pet market with better oversight than the souks. It has been ten years since we lived in Dubai and we keep in touch with Emirati friends who share the many changes created since we were there. It would be so valuable for you to be on an advisory board to help create a better standard for creating a healthy environment for such exquisite companions.

You know, that is a good point I may not have considered. Miss Gilbert came in with her own life experiences from four or more previous homes. In three years she has slowly changed to the rhythm of our home. But, what might be difficult in rehoming from a friend is the visits back and forth that would be confusing to the parrot and the emotional toll it would bring to your friendship. The important thing right now is for you to sort through your own feelings in your own time, in your own way.

If only I could have time with her to teach her the loud honking nose blowing sound Miss Gilbert makes. She doesn't come near enough to me yet to wipe her nose but I know someday when she does, that sound will come with it. Great photo. Love the caption ideas too.

I am so impressed with Mr. Peck's restraint. "Pecking order" "Greygory Peck"... made me laugh right out loud. And not to forget the humor of Dan getting the occasional fierce neck pinch from Dayo for some infraction of breaking Dayo's "house code". I'm so glad Mr. Peck was giving you a warning, he is a gentleman after all.

Yeah, if I were a guy, and she was at my house, I would tell everyone I have a topless girl eager to meet me at the door every night. She is beautiful. I am not sure I would ever find the occasion in my life to say an African grey at my house would conjure up thoughts of grateful thanks to me. LOL. Mine has been topless before too.

My heart is with you during your time of profound loss. I do believe Rio knew you gently lifted him from where he fell in his cage and I believe he knew and was comforted by your presence. You may or may not get the answers you seek from the tissue samples. In this hard time of loss, remember all the love and happy times even when they feel painful at first. You had so much joy with Rio that holding tight to all the happiness does help as you come to terms with the void in your life. It would be a hard choice regarding the grey offered by your friend. If the wife is rejected he may be one step away from living in the back room. Only you can answer the question of what is best for you and when. We lost two young greys and it was breathtakingly raw grief that is still tender five years later. We did rehome a little Timneh in great need and I like your screenname because she is a Gilbert too. Give yourself time to adjust to your loss. Your heart will tell you when the time is right. It is a tough call to decide whether to rehome or bring home a baby. When I lost Juno, I thought if I brought home a baby it would be easier for me. I brought home his clutchmate and it didn't help. He was my first African Grey love and there is no other in my lifetime that could come close to being a "replacement". Miss Gilbert's needs are different and she fills a different part of my heart. Thank you for joining us, I am so sorry for your loss being the catalyst to bring you to our lives, but very glad to meet you and share the love you feel for Rio.

She is just flashing for beads at Mardi Gras.

Thank you for your observations. I had never joined a forum and lurked for six months before joining and posting. I still don't belong to any other forum. It really is an extended grey family with leadership and members dedicated to greater understanding of our complicated and exquisite companions. Miss Gilbert is the beneficiary of guidance, insights and outpouring of encouragement. From all this, I am the very grateful beneficiary of the companionship of Miss Gilbert through many of my own life changes. The best part about being in this forum family is that we got to choose this family.

Good information and reinforcement for the varied diet, sunlight and heads up signals when something could be amiss.

Thank you Nancy. I think we are all in agreement that its an emotionally charged issue and we want to stand beside Stephen as he and Isaac figure things out and put this behind them and watch as Isaac returns from a temporary change that he is so intuitive that he went into a tailspin so to speak. Team Isaac is putting all the pieces together and the best news of all is Isaacs can do attitude. He remains energetic and tuned in and happy. He is a fine tuned poopin' machine.

There is a reason plucking is such an emotionally charged issue. Just look at the rescues that have the parrots rejected because the caretaker couldn't control it not bear to see it and be judged by others that they were abusing or neglecting their beloved companion. Please bear in mind this is Stephen's thread for journaling this potentially painful time in his life with Isaac and the recovery and they both need all the support we can elicit from deep in our hearts. Debating whether we could tolerate it if our bird was a plucker may not be especially helpful when we don't have a plucker is akin to debating if someone with a migraine is really in pain or if they should be able to send it away at will. Maybe someone who feels strongly about it could search to see if we have a thread on plucking or start one that is generic and keep this one from getting hijacked from its intent and purpose. Isaac had a trauma when Stephen was hospitalized. This is a one time situation that is taking care of itself naturally with vet care and encouragement. Lets pull together and support that to enhance the relationship of forum family.

In thinking about this vet visit, I agree it is necessary and will hold you in my thoughts and prayers. It is my hope that although initially, it will be stressful for you and for Peck, he will come home knowing it was beneficial to him when his nails are not troubling him and especially if they can help his beak issue. Our vet made Gilbert's first visit as not threatening and least invasive as possible. He suggested holding off on bloodwork because the stress level of rehoming alone would be enough to cause unnatural readings. We had a meet and greet and waited a little while for those. With Peck it is different because there are some changes that will benefit him greatly. Considering his history, your vet will address the most pressing issues and hopefully find a way to meet Peck and assess how to best approach the task with the least amount of handling. When we had a sick baby grey so long ago, our forum friends suggested speaking to him and telling him what we were doing and asking for cooperation. It sounds a little simplistic, but by doing that it seemed to help me visualize a good interaction and when I asked Juno to help me and to take his meds, whether it helped him or just helped me cope, it did help. My thoughts and prayers are with you and Peck and when he comes home with Megan there to help him realize you are his friend and he is in good hands.

It is my greatest hope for you to get Sukei's papers to keep him with you always. He is a beautiful boy, I liked his birthday celebration photo. Thanks for checking in with us.

Oh how I dreaded Miss Gilbert's first vet visit, shortly after she came to us and she was a bundle of fear and raw nerves. . Then when we got there the vet and his assistant just prepared to towel her, asked her to step up... And she did. It was incredible. She did get a bite of the vet right under his fingernail when they held her for an exam and blood work. When he put her down she was eager to come back to me and get in her back pack. She is more cooperative at the vet now than she usually is at home. Hoping Peck has an uneventful visit as well.

What a precious moment for Jaxin and Smokey. They look like they have been together all their lives.

Bless you for your kindness and understanding. There is no doubt this time that her flight was initiated by desire and while David and I were in chairs an equal distance from her, she was coming toward me. When I put my arm forward, it was more to catch her as she was flying and it did put her her into overdrive and she "did it herself" like any willful two year old. LOL. You are also right about my feelings for Juno. He was our first, our baby, the awaited one. The One. It is not fair to compare him to his brother Kopi who suffered with the same illness and never had the gift of flight. It is not fair to expect Miss Gilbert to elicit the same feelings as Juno did. It was a totally different life. Of course, I would like to have that experience with a baby and I will get that again if I am blessed with grandchildren. I have a different expectation and joy with Miss Gilbert. No less, just different and much harder to earn. There is a little voice inside that says once Miss Gilbert is "okay" we could think about another. That again would not be fair. I am keeping Juno and his wonder all to him and Kopi's is different too. I have to look to the future and I know my girls are capable and willing to take on Miss Gilbert in the event I am no longer able, but to ask them to take a baby that was so much more attached to me for their lifetime is not realistic. To really contemplate it, Miss Gilbert has been so much of a challenge, it is much more rewarding to see her blossom, learn to trust again and to flourish. Flight is the bonus. It took me five months to sort out my grief and loss to really decide if I could love Miss Gilbert and accept her until the end of our days regardless of what I found when I drove down to meet her. The decision was made for me when I knew her caretaker wasn't giving up on her, she was placing her trust that Gilbert would have that elusive forever home as she tended her family during a terminal illness. It is only through the sage advice of other grey loving forum family that bolstered my own beliefs that if I build her trust and don't lose hope, she will come to me, ever so slowly in her own grey time. An analogy that has stuck in my brain is that leading her to find her potential is like working with a wet string. I can push that string but it will be messy and difficult, or I can gently draw that string out and it will follow with much less energy and frustration. Of course that string isn't going to bite me when I turn the "wrong" way and displease it. LOL.

As I read your posts and enjoy the process of meeting Peck and watching him integrate into your flock, I am so happy for him. The picture of the bird shaped hole in your heart resonates with me. We are approaching the five year anniversary of meeting Juno with his breeder for the first time. I picked up my husband's phone to bring it to him and saw his screensaver has been changed to a photo of me holding Juno just before we brought him home. I thought about having two parrot shaped holes in that heart and thought there would be nothing left of my heart at that point. Time and perspective have shrunken those gaping holes, they are still with me, but as I have worked so long with Miss Gilbert and find new joys with her, the gap between devastation and the greatest thrill of watching her learn to fly emphasizes that the holes have not shrunken, my heart has grown exponentially in these five years.

What an amazing turn of events. Yesterday when I was in the basement, we had contractors removing some trees in the back lot. David was upstairs and when the chainsaw fired up, we heard the flutter of wings. Well, not just the flutter of wings, the growling grumbling and screeching of a pterodactyl as well. I came up the stairs to find Miss Gilbert in the farthest point from her cage, hanging on the living room window. She was clinging to a small pane divider and she was screeching up a storm. I offered her my arm to help her get down and she was too distracted by the view out the window where all the men were below and a tree was being felled. She did manage to get her bearings and was happy to go back to her cage while I distracted and calmed her with a little oatmeal treat. She went at least thirty feet. This morning, there is no doubt about her flight becoming intentional. As I sat here reading the forum, she launched off her cage and came right toward me. She was definitely flying and not simply maintaining a descent. As she got to me she was still above my head. I put out my arm thinking she was coming to me. Silly me, the little pip banked, turned and landed on the small wire dog crate behind my chair. There is no doubt at all what I have seen with my own eyes. She is flying. When I type that simple sentence, my eyes well up with tears of gratitude. Miss Gilbert is fighting for all she is worth to regain her gift of flight and this little girl is winning.

I am guessing Nilah has decided that birdroom is her happy birthday present and its all hers. Every time I sign in on the forum and see the other bird room, my thoughts go to Nilah and her exuberance, her singing, her antics. Like all our forum amazons, she keeps me thinking "maybe" some day. Happy Birthday to Nilah the beautiful! Congrats to you Penny on helping her overcome the morning stink pot routine so she can be out and enjoy your mornings again.

Thank you for your thread that brings back such happy memories for me. Our baby Juno was talking at twelve weeks, before he came home from the breeder. He told me "hello" when I was visiting him in the weeks leading up to his homecoming. There was nothing as special as his happy little face in the morning when he said "good morning" and rushed right out of his sleepy time tent to greet the morning with eyes bright, cheeks flushed and pure love. You are right that nothing compares to the excitement and thrill of this little bundle of feathers learning our language and seeing our delight, then becoming eager to show us more.

He still has that cute little baby face. His photo is so endearing. When I read that he says "I love you" it just melted my heart. Congrats on your baby boy, still stealing your heart and chattering his little heart out.

Stephen, I am with the others and with you to say I have those sinking feelings that I am not enough for Miss Gilbert, or guilt when she has a meltdown that I let her down somehow. What I have come to see recently is that it's not so much of a statement of "us" when she withdraws or damages her feathers in frustration. Rather, it has come to me, it is a statement of how incredibly intelligent they are and that they know they depend on us. Isaac didn't have a meltdown because of anything tangible or what you did or didn't do. My personal opinion is it a testament to his love and bond for you. For a very brief time he had the horror of your absence. His world revolves around your care and feedback of how wonderful he is in your life. It is probably a complex combination of things, including maturity with hormonal changes and springtime and more. Still, I have those same feelings sometimes when Miss Gilbert tries to bite me while I am feeding her, or when she backs away from me and gives me the stinkeye like I am Jack the Ripper. My husband reminds her often that I am the one making her gourmet meals, catering to her every comfort and need. Sometimes after a particular outburst from her I think "You ungrateful little &*%#!" using her word! It goes away. Isaac has already forgiven you and returned to his happy self. A few barberings here and there are to me like a human biting our nails, it started for one reason and reappears occasionally while you try to keep busy doing other things.